The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) have announced that Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa has expressed his desire to play for Spain.

The 24-year-old was born in Lagarto, an area of Brazil's smallest state, Sergipe, but has decided to turn his back on the country of his birth in order to represent the world champions.

Having originally signed for Atletico in 2007, Costa has completed over five years of residency in Spain, and therefore is eligible for a Spanish passport under EU regulations.

However, owing to bureaucratic red tape, Vicente del Bosque will not be able to name the in-form Atleti man in his squad for the upcoming games against Belarus and Georgia.

A statement on the official website of the RFEF read:

"Diego Costa wants to play for the Spanish national team, although bureaucracy inhibits this for the moment.

"Atletico Madrid player Diego Costa can not be selected tomorrow by manager Vicente del Bosque for the upcoming games against Belarus and Georgia as FIFA have demanded additional paperwork, which is already being undertaken, even though the player has verbally expressed to the Spanish coach his desire to play for his national team in the future."

Costa boasts eight goals in just seven La Liga games so far this season, and although he has featured twice for Brazil, he is eligible to switch nationalities as those fixtures were just friendlies.